OK … remember not to forget this

It’s no wonder there was such an outcry when Twitter floated the idea of enabling posts longer than 140 characters. Based on the statistics that prompted this column, very few of us feel like we have enough time to get into more detail! More precisely … very few of us, without actually...Read full story »

Wednesday, April 06, 2016

Divine Mercy awaits us … always

On March 22, Christian musician Kristeen N. Gillooly made this post to her Twitter feed: “My life is in Your hands, and as scary as that is sometimes, I'm learning to trust You completely.” What a wonderful sentiment as we approach Divine Mercy Sunday. St. John Paul II instituted it as...Read full story »

Wednesday, March 30, 2016

The 'shortest greatest story ever told'

Last week in this space, I wrote about hope. This week, I write about the very foundation of all human hope. It’s found in the story that will play out before us over the next 10 days – the shortest greatest story ever told. It begins on Palm Sunday, when Luke’s Gospel reading tha...Read full story »

Thursday, March 17, 2016

Hope is never futile

It’s true; hope is never futile. Reminders hit home almost daily here. More than 30 years ago, in a small religious bookstore in Springfield, Mo., I bought a wallet-size card with this prayer for hope: “Dear God, on those days when hope escapes me, when all I am is weary, when darkness...Read full story »

Wednesday, March 09, 2016

Thank your priest when you see him

Thank you priest the next time you see him. Just say thanks. I found myself contemplating that on the drive home from the Feb. 24 Memorial Mass for Father Kenneth Graehler, who died Feb. 19. Father Joe Ziliak, the first editor of The Message, was the homilist at Father Graehler’s memorial, an...Read full story »

Wednesday, March 02, 2016

Rejoice! And meet me at the Ford Center on May 14

Heads-up! There will only be one Saturday-Anticipatory Mass in the Diocese of Evansville the weekend of May 14-15. Let me repeat – across our 12 counties, there will only be one Saturday Mass to fulfill the Sunday obligation on May 14. If, like me, you’re “one of those Saturday pe...Read full story »

Thursday, February 25, 2016

Improve your 'moral goodness' by listening to Jesus

The Gospel reading for Feb. 19 is Matthew 5: 20-26. It begins this way: “Jesus said to his disciples: ‘I tell you, unless your righteousness surpasses that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will not enter into the Kingdom of heaven.’” Webster’s simple defini...Read full story »

Thursday, February 18, 2016

'Listen to them; they can teach us'

In his homily during the Feb. 3 Mass to celebrate Catholic Schools Week, Bishops Charles C. Thompson mentioned comments from Pope Francis about what we all must do in reaching out to help those most in need – including the homeless and others “in the margins.” He included the foll...Read full story »

Thursday, February 11, 2016

Do you see it? Mercy surrounds us

Seriously … do you see it? Mercy really does surround us. And this week – the week of Jan. 31 through Feb. 6 – provides all the evidence we need to see the God’s mercy everywhere … virtually every day. We have two landmarks over these seven days: The closing of the Yea...Read full story »

Wednesday, February 03, 2016

Research sometimes belies the truth

The headline above says it all – research sometimes belies the truth. The highly respected Pew Research Organization recently provided a perfect example. The Message Twitter feed recently included a graphic that quickly reported the results of Pew research into religion. Its headline read, ...Read full story »